


Tranquility

by Ancalime1



Series: Unnamed Astronaut AU [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Astronaut AU, Astronauts, Autistic Bruce Banner, Character Study, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Outer Space, Space AU, actually this one is pretty autistic bruce-centric, hell yeah introspective bruce banner, hulk is still an alien parasite btw, mostly comfort, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 18:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16917903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ancalime1/pseuds/Ancalime1
Summary: After the crew is permitted to stay on Asgard to study and interact with its denizens, Bruce heads back to the ship alone, ill from the hulk parasite and dangerously close to experiencing a meltdown. This is one of the first fics in which I really try to incorporate more of Bruce’s perspective as an autistic person, and is essentially just one big character study.





	Tranquility

He had finally made it back to the ship, thank God. To its credit, Asgard seemed a fine place, and the locals were unexpectedly quite welcoming. But even on a good day, this sudden submergence into a vastly different, literally alien culture would have caused Bruce to shut down from overstimulation. And with the parasite roaring angrily in his head, he was already well past that point. Hell, he was on the verge of diving into a full-fledged meltdown.

He blinked back tears as he made his way down to the airlock chambers. He needed to get out, and he needed to do it now. Yes, it was incredibly reckless to perform an EVA without any other crew members aboard—but really it was incredibly reckless to be the only crew member aboard period, so that made his situation kind of a moot point. He figured he’d take his chances. Besides—given his current circumstances, he wasn’t particularly concerned for his safety at the moment.

He pulled on his space suit and cuddled up inside of it as if it were a thick blanket. The suit’s warmth and weight felt nice—soothing, even—and it wasn’t long before he found himself relaxing inside it, his breathing becoming less shaky and more even than before. He gave a deep sigh and hugged his chest. He was going to be okay. He was going to figure this out.

Feeling a bit more composed, he locked his helmet into place, clipped a tether to his suit, and opened the sequence of airlock seals. Squaring his shoulders, he sucked in a deep breath and made his way through the passage and into the black vacuum.

He felt his breath hitch as he began to drift out and away from the ship, the sudden sensation of weightlessness sending a delighted shiver up his spine. The feeling was just as beautiful as he remembered: quiet, serene, perfect. Even the parasite had become radio silent, as if it too had been temporarily put to ease. Far below him drifted opulent Asgard, a golden planetary disc wreathed in starlight. The sight was breathtaking, and he was reminded briefly of the view of Earth from space. This was much different, however. Whereas Earth was like a clouded ocean slowly rotating through space, Asgard was like a castle in the sky, a magical fairytale realm made real.

He closed his eyes, letting himself drift in comfortable silence. He’d almost forgotten what comfort had felt like, what with the angry din of the parasite gnawing at the back of his skull. But out here, every sound save for his breathing had been drenched in the ocean of space. Out here, his racing mind had seemed to settle, and the only thoughts that flickered through his head now were those of immense relaxation, of how utterly tranquil he felt. It was as if he were floating in a star-strewn ocean, a lone vessel bobbing in a glittering sea.

**Author's Note:**

> This one is probably my favorite of the bunch lol. Feel free to leave a comment if you also enjoyed it, or come say hi to me on tumblr @autistic-thor!!


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